ceramic platen

Michael Rader said:
+1 for USAknifemaker.com. And when I put mine on, I drilled two small holes at the bottom of my metal platen, put in two short pins for the ceramic platen to rest on, and JB-Welded everything together. No shock. The two metal pins take the charge and it gets grounded out through the metal in the machine. Even if you do the other grounding solutions mentioned above, you should still put in one or two pins to physically keep the ceramic platen in place.
-M
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I did the same thing and have not had a problem.
 
I find the anti static spray for clothes works just great. I spray for literally one or two seconds on the inside of the moving belt. By the way plate glass can do strange things when given a heat build up. Frank
 
Matthew Gregory said:
Guys, there's no need to use pyroceram unless you just feel like spending more money. Go to a local glass shop and have them cut you the right size plate glass for a couple of bucks, and adhere it with super glue. RJ Martin told me this trick, and it works flawlessly...

...I have mine with sharp corners, but I don't grind blades on them....
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What sort of life expectancy is there with ordinary glass, especially if you grind on them?

- Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
I've never had to replace one, going on 4 years. Perhaps my grinding style is different, though... here's my take on it. If you're pushing so hard that you're creating enough heat to cause the glass to fail, you're using the wrong speed, or belts, or belt grit. The abrasive should be doing the cutting, and although a certain amount of pressure is necessary (of course!), it shouldn't be enough to damage a platen. Just my outlook, YMMV...
 
The glass platens do ware especially if you do much cotour grinding which I do a lot of the making of my folders. Still the glass platens last much longer than hardened steel plates or? I think I replace mine about 3 times a year. Frank
 
Go Glass!! Just to clarify-If you taper your tangs by cutting a trough down the center of the blade with a 10" or 8" wheel, there is very little material around the edges that needs to be removed to taper the tang. And, if you do your own HT and press quench, do the actual tapering on the flat platen AFTER HT, so your tang will stay nice and flat during quench because it's full thickness at the edges. With a good ceramic 60 grit belt, you can taper the tang on the platen after HT in just a few minutes, using only moderate pressure, even with highly alloyed steels. Then, clean up with light pressure with a NEW 120-180 grit belt and you can achieve the flattest tang ever.

If you use new belts and have a good touch, you can taper them using only the platen-The glass will hold up. Just adjust it correctly per the previous posts, and don't lean into it too hard.
 
I have read where some are using ceramic tile for this. I expect it would also work very well if of the type to seat well on the back. Frank
 
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